SEPTEMBER 23, 1996

Ford's privateer plans

WE hear that Ford and Cosworth may come to the rescue of Grand Prix racing once again by providing customer V8 engines next year.

The latest development version of the Ford ED V8 engine is to be run in this week's Estoril test by Minardi - with driver Pedro Lamy. The aim is to establish whether the engine has the potential to undergo further development by a new group of young engineers at Cosworth. Cosworth Racing boss Brian Dickie was at Estoril to talk to potential customers - although the program cannot go ahead until Ford makes a policy decision on the subject. The small teams have complained in recent years that Ford Cosworth V8s are too expensive and do not have enough power.